Contents

Description

The previous iteration of the Iron Curtain was a huge success for the Soviets and warranted an upgrade. Now capable of making up to nine vehicles impervious to damage, an increased shield duration and immunity to mind control, the Iron Curtain is a bigger threat than ever.

Invulnerability

Once fully charged, the Iron Curtain Device can cover up to 9 vehicles in its area-of-effect by a black-tinted energy shield that renders them completely impervious to any damage and external interference (such as mind control and confusion rays) for a good 45 seconds in-game.

While Invulnerability also works on structures, it does not work on infantry due to the sheer amount of energy it generates being too much for organic matter to bear. It is also unable to affect the M.A.D.M.A.N..

Overview

In Mental Omega, the Iron Curtain's cooldown is increased from 5 minutes to 6 minutes. Another major change is that it can no longer instantly harm infantry. Nonetheless, it remains as a terrifying superweapon, especially with the myriad of status effects that could hamper advancing Soviet forces (such as confusion, mind control and firepower/armor/speed debuffs).

Its primary use is for Soviet armored divisions to break through heavily fortified defenses without taking casualties. The invulnerable vehicles would take the brunt of incoming fire, while the remaining Soviet army retaliates without fear of their own demise (as long as the opposing commander does not directly order their units to ignore the invulnerable vehicles). As the Force Shield is now exclusive to the European Alliance in standard circumstances, most factions cannot reliably protect their buildings, encouraging Soviet players to target critical structures. The Iron Curtain can also be used to decimate an enemy battalion. Although enemy forces are likely to retreat when doing so, this opens up an opportunity for the Soviets to push back an enemy offensive when it would have failed without the Iron Curtain.

The most eligible targets for an Iron Curtain activation are monster tanks (main battle tanks are the alternative if monster tanks are not available) due to their reliable damage output. If the enemy forces are too dangerous, invulnerable Terror Drones will surely soften their ranks before the Soviet forces arrive. Even Demolition Trucks (or Bomb Buggies for the Latin Confederation) can be rendered invulnerable, which guarantees destruction of opposing critical structures (e.g. War Factories and tightly packed power plants). Other vehicles should only be targeted if they are worth saving (particularly siege units and MCVs caught in an ambush).

The Iron Curtain can also be used in a base defense situation; its Invulnerability power can be used like a Force Shield to protect vital buildings (especially those that grant Tier 3 access, as they are often key targets). However, since its effective radius is smaller than the Force Shield, a Soviet commander can often only cause 1 building to become invulnerable (unless the buildings are small enough to fit inside the 3x3 area), so deciding which building to save can be crucial. If an attack is surely anticipated, the Iron Curtain should be activated before the base suddenly loses power; otherwise, the Iron Curtain's last resort use would be delayed (indefinitely if the Iron Curtain is destroyed).

Despite its immense potential, the Iron Curtain can be a burden to a Soviet base thanks to its tremendous energy and cost requirement (though Nuclear Reactors quickly resolve this). Additionally, its countdown and activation is visible to all players, so the use of an Iron Curtain is predictable (especially to human players). Lastly, should the base lose power, the Iron Curtain is disabled.